He gave a disappointed snort. “It’s cool. I’m actually here with Cora’s new intern anyway. Have you seen her? Kita Ducesa. She is hot.” Leaning a little closer, he added, “Between us, did you really off Noah? It would be totally understandable considering—”
“I didn’t kill him,” she responded icily.
He almost looked sad. Without another word, he turned and left. Ash waited until he was lost to the crowd, then started forward without a word. I followed, more sure than ever that this world’s version of Ash was the most damaged yet.
Chapter Twelve
Ash
No.
I kept my expression neutral, yet the word echoed a thousand times inside my head. No. No. No. That had not just happened. The fact that someone had recognized me should have been more of a concern, but it was the exchange between Freddy and me, the things he’d said—that he’d implied—that made me want to march into the house and present myself to Cora wearing a big, fat bow.
How was I supposed to explain? How could I make Noah understand that the mistakes I’d made—wait… “Kita Ducesa.” I stopped short, causing Noah to walk into me.
“Huh?”
Wow. How had I not realized it the moment Freddy opened his mouth? “Kita. Cora’s new intern. That’s who he was meeting.”
“Why do you think that?”
“A few months ago Noah started learning Romanian. He said it had to do with some girl he was hot for… Anyway, Ducesa is Romanian for duchess. She’s our girl.”
“Okay.” He spun in a slow circle. “See her anywhere?”
“There.” I nodded discreetly to the punch bowl on the other side of the dance floor. Freddy must have made a pit stop on his way back to her because Kita was alone, nursing a drink. Before I realized what was happening, Noah was crossing the dance floor. “Crap.”
I ran after him as discreetly as possible, catching up just as he reached her. “Hey Kita.”
“Hey,” she said in an uncertain tone. Dressed in a poufy dress with an uncomfortable looking corset, her blond hair hung in tight ringlets and bounced as she nodded. “Crazy party, right? Leave it to the Andersons to go for the gold.”
“Yeah.” He took her by the arm and began leading her away from the crowd. “Crazy. Can we talk for a sec?”
She stumbled after him. “Um…”
I came up beside them and pried Kita’s arm from his grasp. “Will you cool it?”
She looked around, frowning. “What’s going on? Who are you guys?”
I turned my back on the crowd and lifted my mask just long enough for her to gasp and take a step back. Or, at least she tried. Noah had positioned himself behind her so she couldn’t run. But she could still scream—and that would land us in a boatload of crap.
“Please. Just hear me out before you freak, okay?”
“What are you doing here?” All the color drained from her face. “I can’t be seen talking to you.”
“You won’t be,” Noah said. “She’s wearing a mask.”
“You’re not just listed anymore. You’re wanted for murder.” There was challenge in her tone. “If they find you—”
“You could scream,” I said, heart kicking into overdrive. If she alerted security and I was caught, it was all over. Listed didn’t get trials. If they were suspected of a crime, it was the death penalty. “But I’m asking—begging—you not to.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you were meeting Noah here tonight.”
“That’s crazy. Why would I—”
“Don’t try to hide it.” Noah lifted his own mask for a moment. “What do you have to tell me?”
Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “You’re the skip!”
“No,” he said with a sharp shake of his head. He fixed his mask, then subtly scanned the area to make sure no one was looking. “I’m not. My parents knew I was onto them. They staged my death, then said I was another me, here as a skip to cause trouble.”
Wow. He was good. I ran with it. “Cora and Karl are horrible people, but even they couldn’t get rid of their own son.”
He nodded. “Yep. So they made up the story so the law would do it for them.”
Her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t buying it just yet. “Why didn’t you contact me? Give me a heads-up? It’s dangerous for you to be here. How did you even know I’d still come?”
“I chanced it. You’re my mom’s intern. I figured you’d still show. What my parents are doing at Infinity is dangerous. They need to be stopped.”
I cringed as Kita’s jaw clenched. Crap. This world’s Noah never referred to Cora as his mom or the two of them as his parents. He’d been using their first names since he was in grade school. At first I was sure she’d catch the mistake, but after a moment, she sighed. “I can’t tell you much. Like I said on the phone, I don’t know exactly what Omega is, but I know that they had some hiccups when they got it off the ground.”
“What kind of hiccups?”
“Again, not sure.” She glanced around nervously, voice dropping to barely a whisper. “All I know is that they’ve been working on this one for a long time. There were several test subjects, a few under lock and key in the most secure parts of the facility. The first trials for the project and it didn’t go quite as planned.”
I frowned. “That’s not much to go on.”
“Sorry. That’s all I know.” She shifted, trying to move away. “Whatever the project is, though, they’re being very careful to hide it. If the whispers are right, they were not given clearance from President Gotti to proceed.”
“The president? Does this have to do with the Guardian program?”
“I don’t think so. Whatever it is, the story is, it predates Gotti. His predecessor told Cora to shut it down before it even really got started. That it was too controversial. When Gotti came into office, he agreed.”
“Oh, wow.” This was huge. The president had to sign off on all business ventures operating within the United States. If he vetoed it, the business wasn’t permitted to operate on U.S. soil. It didn’t happen often—he got a 10 percent cut from any profits brought in from the first five years and knew the Andersons personally—so it had to be bad. Gotti wasn’t normally one to shy away from controversy. “Is there anything else? Even the name of someone who might be involved in the project?”
“Cora is heading it. I know that for sure. But there have been whispers that Markus Brewster is involved, too.”
“Brewster… Why do I know that name? Something to do with pharmaceuticals?”
“Yes. He made the news a few years back when his company tested a drug meant to replace tubal ligation surgery.”
“I remember that. Every one of the test subjects died.”
“Slow and horrible,” she said. There was a bitterness in her tone that suggested she’d been personally affected by Brewster’s mistakes. “If the rumors are true, he’s working his magic for Cora these days.”
“What need would Infinity have for a hack like that? They deal in tech, not drugs.”
“No idea, but the word is, he’s not happy there.” She shrugged and stood a little straighter. “Can I go now?”
She turned to leave, but Noah still blocked her path. “And you’re in a hurry to…?”
“Get back to my date, Freddy.” She cast a scowl in my direction. “You know Freddy, right, Ash?” Her voice had returned to normal levels and I cringed at the mention of my name.
I was sure my face had turned a pretty unflattering shade of red. I grabbed Noah’s arm and gently pulled him toward me. Kita snorted and stalked back toward the party. “Guess we got what we came for.”
He was quiet for a moment. “If you’re worried that I’ll judge you based on the things I’ve—”
“I’m not.”
“Good. Because I don’t have the whole story.”
“You don’t,” I agreed.
“And even if I did, trust me when I tell you, I’m the last one who should be judging a
nyone for anything.”
“I don’t know every guy here.” My reputation was highly inflated. I had been with Freddy and one other guy. It ended badly when he made it clear he’d used me because he’d heard he could. That drove me into the arms of one other guy—who made it clear what kind of a relationship he was looking for before things went on too long. I’d been sixteen at the time. Stupid and heartbroken and utterly alone in the world. Searching for something to hold on to. After that, my brain finally kicked in and I realized I didn’t need them to feel whole. I didn’t need anyone.
“I didn’t think you did.” His voice was low and his tone gentle. The way he was looking at me was something so completely foreign. Not with pity or greed or lust, but with…respect?
“I’ve made mistakes.” I wanted to shut my mouth, but the words kept coming. Like violent, verbal diarrhea. “Done things that, in the moment, felt like they were my only choices. Not life and death, but—”
“I’ve fucked things up more times than I can count.”
He had. It wasn’t just lip service. I could see it in his eyes and in the way that he spoke. He’d seen things. Done things… This Noah Anderson was just as damaged as I was. He’d made stupid choices and probably hadn’t learned from them as quickly as he should have. On top of everything else that seemed to spark and fizz between us, this realization just made me like him even more. He was something relatable now. Someone I could understand a little more.
“Sometimes in the moment is all you have, Ash.” He glanced around, then refocused on me. “Sometimes those mistakes are the only thing that makes you feel real. Alive. It’s okay to live there for a while if it’s what you need to get through to the other side.”
“What if there is no getting through?”
He smiled. It was something I’d seen my Noah do a thousand times, and though it’d always been a beautiful sight, now…now it was so much more than that. “There’s always a way through—even if we don’t see it right away.”
“You really believe that?”
“I didn’t used to. I think I do now.” He slipped his arm me around and let his hand rest against the small of my back. “Let’s find Cade and Kori and see if we can’t track down this Brewster guy. Sound good?”
I nodded and, without thinking, leaned into him just a bit. “Sounds good.”
Chapter Thirteen
Noah
Everyone had been oddly quiet on the walk back to our hotel. Cade was lost in thought—probably trying to come up with a plan, a backup plan, and a backup-backup plan. Kori was worried. I could always tell by the way she kept wringing her hands and looking over her shoulder. And Ash… Ash’s quiet was the worst. She’d nearly shit elephants over what that Freddy asshole said. I could tell she was still freaked about it, and even though I wanted to know what he meant, I didn’t dare ask.
When we arrived back at the hotel, Kori grabbed me as I was about to head in. “We, uh, got some information about Miles. Hang back and I can fill you in?”
Cade hovered in the doorway, shooting Kori a weird look. One I knew too damn well. Whatever it was she had to tell me, he didn’t want her to spill. “Yeah. Sure.” I flipped him off, then followed her back onto the sidewalk. We’d gotten a corner room at the farthest end of the lot. Thankfully the place was empty.
“This place is horrible,” she said when Cade finally closed the hotel room door.
I rolled my eyes, but the truth was, I agreed—and I didn’t even know much about it. “What is it this time?”
“This world is more technologically advanced than mine was, but when it comes to human rights, they’re about a century behind.”
“Huh?”
“Those people that end up listed? They’re basically sold into slavery.”
“What?” She has to have the wrong information. “Where did you hear this crap?”
“Just listening to the people at that party talk was more than enough.” Her expression contorted, nose scrunching and lips pulling back in disgust. “That tattoo Ash has on her wrist? A bunch of the service people had them, so I started poking around. Overheard some things. There are two companies—they call them houses. They basically rent people out.”
“Rent people?”
“When a person is listed, or in the case of a minor being listed—which is rare—when they turn eighteen, they have the choice to join one of the two houses.”
“Yeah. Ash mentioned something about that.”
“Did she also mention that in exchange for food, shelter, and clothing—all of which are deplorable in condition—these houses will rent them out to society?”
“Rent them out to what?” A sick feeling bubbled in my gut, but more than that, anger. Who the fuck thought it was okay to rent a person?
She hesitated. “Depends on the house. A lot of the service people at the party were listed. Rented for the night to be the waitstaff. From what I gathered, they were used to fill in the holes left by several sick bottom tier staff members.”
This place made me sick. “The houses? You said there were two?”
“There’s a general labor house.” She gestured to the building. “Waitstaff, house cleaners—anything demeaning and menial that a person of higher standing would find degrading. And then there’s the entertainment house.”
“Entertainment, meaning…”
“Meaning, well, anything entertainment wise...”
She was being vague, and for some reason, it scared the shit out of me. “You’re talking about actors?”
“I’m not sure. I doubt it, though.”
“Then, what? Birthday party clowns?”
“Maybe.” She paused, then inhaled sharply. “I think mainly, though, it’s more for adult entertainment…”
“You’re saying—”
“Prostitution is legal here. Encouraged, actually. The people in that house are rented as escorts. Strippers, companionship.” She scrunched up her nose again. “I even heard the words ‘fantasy fulfillment.’”
“Jesus.”
Kori cringed. “That’s where Ash was heading. I overheard Cora talking. She and Karl had it arranged. She wasn’t getting a choice. The day she turned eighteen, they were going to show up on her doorstep to cart her away—like it or not.”
She wasn’t mine. There was nothing between us but an amazing spark. But the idea of some stranger putting his hands all over her—on anyone, really—because she’d been rented out enraged me. “Like hell—”
“Relax, Noah. It’s a moot point. She’s wanted for murder. She can’t go to the house.”
Because that was so much better?
“And we’ll fix that. We’ll get what we need to clear her name when Rabbit fixes the cuffs. She won’t be wanted for murder and we’ll get her off the listed roster.”
Damn right we would. I had no intention of leaving Ash to play the starring role in some sicko’s fantasy scene.
I waited for Kori to go back inside—I needed some air to try and calm down—but she stayed where she was, watching me expectantly. “What?”
“You okay?”
I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because this is Ash. Ash, Noah.” She stepped around and came to stand in front of me. Arms folded, chin thrust out in defiance. She was also blocking my escape. Smart girl. “You might keep it from Cade, but you can’t hide it from me. We’re too much alike. I can see right through you.”
I hated it, but she was right. My biological sister had been the polar opposite of me. Sweet where I was sour. Smooth where I was jagged. She’d been love and light, while I lived more on the darker side of things. This Kori, while not as entrenched in that darkness, understood it. She was harder than mine. In many ways, more capable and far more observant.
“You don’t have to pretend that seeing her means nothing to you,” she said when I didn’t answer. “How do you think I feel when I imagine seeing my mom again?”
There was barely anything I couldn’t tell Cade. He was
, and always had been, my brother. But when it came to Ash, I just couldn’t do it. Maybe it was because in the beginning, when I first found her, Cade was still alone. We hadn’t found this Kori yet. Talking to him about my dream girl when he’d just lost his seemed like a dick thing to do.
“You lost your mother, Kor. I didn’t lose Ash. I never had her.” I nudged her aside and started walking. I knew she’d follow. We’d fallen into this weird but comfortable routine.
She fell in step beside me. “Just say that you like her.”
I shrugged again and pinned her with a pointed glare. “She’s not the most annoying girl I know.”
This was what we did. That back-and-forth, love-and-hate shtick. It was easier for me this way. The thought of embracing her openly as my sister—even as another sister—still felt like I was betraying mine in some small way. At least this way, there was the guise of annoyance. Though she saw right through it. Always did.
Kori fought a grin but failed. “What’s really bothering you? The fact that you didn’t meet her on your world—or the fact that you’ve met her and are afraid to lose her?”
I stopped walking, my defense mechanisms instantly jumping to the surface. “You’ve been with me for, what? Like, two and a half minutes? Suddenly you know the inner workings of my mind?”
But she was used to it. Shrugged it off and soldiered on—her words, not mine. “So, I’m right then?”
I sighed. “Maybe.” We walked a few more feet and I stopped. I didn’t want to venture too far from the motel. “The whole thing is asinine. Why the hell does it even bother me? Why do I care where she ends up?”
Kori smiled, then rose onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “You don’t need me to tell you why. You already know.” Without another word, she turned and walked back to the motel. I waited until I saw that she was safely inside before sliding down the nearest tree trunk to think.
...
Cade talked us all into getting a good night’s sleep before striking out to search for Markus Brewster. My argument was that if we’d been able to find out about him, so would Dylan. But Cade, always the logical one, insisted on getting some rest. His plan was further backed by Ash, who explained that we’d be more noticeable traveling at night. I didn’t get the logic, but what did I know. I was just a visitor—thank God.